10 ms·

Why Wait? the Science Behind Procrastination

176 points by rfreytag 11y ago

techload 11y ago
Today I did browse the internet all day and put my real work for tomorrow...
shmageggy 11y ago
Kind of painful to read such an accurate account of my own psychological failings while currently carrying out such failings (procrastinating by reading this article)
- LanceH 11y ago
  I was going to skip this article until you put it this way.
- albemuth 11y ago
  You should read this: http://waitbutwhy.com/2013/10/why-procrastinators-procrastinate.html http://waitbutwhy.com/2013/10/why-procrastinators-procrastin... It's the most accurate and empathetic description I've read.
seangrogg 11y ago
> If progress on a task can take many forms, procrastination is the absence of progress. Oh, well... I guess I can't call myself a procrastinator anymore. Now to ponder what I should refer to myself as...
seizethecheese 11y ago
For those who would rather try to use procrastination to their advantage than fight against it: http://www.structuredprocrastination.com/ http://www.structuredprocrastination.com/
hacker_9 11y ago
Labels are dangerous, and labelling yourself as a procrastinator will just make you even less likely to do the work you need to do. I think I get a lot of work done (solo game dev on my own), but I also re-organise my task list about every week too, does that make me a procrastinator? If I get stuck on a hard problem, I'll often browse the internet mindlessly, then come back and solve it. Does that make me a procrastinator? If I take a week off, am I a procrastinator!? Just because we made up a word for 'not doing work' doesn't make it real, or a problem. 'chronic procrastination'? Give me a break. I think the real problem is people don't like doing things that are hard, which work generally is (nothing worth doing is easy after all!), and it's easy to just not do something and not have to suffer through the stress of it, anxiety of it and so on. If you're still reading, my solution for all this is exercise, specifically Yoga. I have a mat laid out in my house, and when I'm stressed I just do poses, stretching and breathing, and all the 'bad feelings' go away. then I can work in a relaxed state and end up being very productive. A biologist would probably tell you that you release chemicals that combat the stress chemicals and so on, but I just know it works.
- pa5tabear 11y ago
  Do you think you can attribute the relaxation more to the breathing or stretching component? I've been doing casual meditation (mostly just mindful breathing) and I wonder if I'd further benefit my mind from Yoga. I already do intense cardio and resistance exercises from other activities.
  - hacker_9 11y ago
    The stretching to be honest. I used to meditate, but these days I only really do it I can't fall asleep, or need to fast forward my brain getting over some bad experience I've had. For a productivity boost, I'd definitely go with yoga for more 'bang for your buck' per say; I'm probably on the mat for roughly 5-10 mins, a couple of times a day or more (depending on frustration levels!) Intense exercise is also good, but it gives a different result than Yoga, seeing as you are pushing yourself to the limit. Yoga is more about calming your body, centering yourself, getting the immune system moving and so on.
- 11y ago
Terr_ 11y ago
Phew, I feel like the author of this article has been snooping in my diary. (That is, if I didn't procrastinate writing entries in it.) Quotes that really stand out: > “It really has nothing to do with time-management,” he says. “As I tell people, to tell the chronic procrastinator to just do it would be like saying to a clinically depressed person, cheer up.” > “The chronic procrastinator, the person who does this as a lifestyle, would rather have other people think that they lack effort than lacking ability,” says Ferrari. “It’s a maladaptive lifestyle.” > “The future self becomes the beast of burden for procrastination,” says Sirois. “We’re trying to regulate our current mood and thinking our future self will be in a better state. They’ll be better able to handle feelings of insecurity or frustration with the task. That somehow we’ll develop these miraculous coping skills to deal with these emotions that we just can’t deal with right now.” > But while the tough love approach might work for couples, the best personal remedy for procrastination might actually be self-forgiveness.
askafriend 11y ago
Because sometimes shit is just boring shrug.
msdos 11y ago
The surprising habits of original thinkers: https://www.ted.com/talks/adam_grant_the_surprising_habits_of_original_thinkers https://www.ted.com/talks/adam_grant_the_surprising_habits_o...
33degrees 11y ago
"The idea is that procrastinators comfort themselves in the present with the false belief that they’ll be more emotionally equipped to handle a task in the future." This pretty much sums it up for me, and explains why the time management based approaches haven't helped me all that much.
- scotty79 11y ago
  I think that's just one of rationalizations not actual strategy. It's like alcoholic thinking one drink will give him strength to stay sober.
eldude 11y ago
Procrastination is a lack of motivation, which itself is a combination of self-interest + self-efficacy (expected probability of success). I overcame procrastination / lack of motivation when I read this article[1], effectively summarizing the above through a study of the study habits of successful (non-procrastinating) children. Now, when I procrastinate, I ask myself, what is my selfish motivation for completing this, and do I believe I will be successful? If I don't have a self-interest, I create one. If I don't believe I will be successful, I find a way to ensure success or sufficiently increase my confidence in my ability to achieve success. [1] https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/dont-delay/201601/ill-do-it-later-childrens-academic-procrastination https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/dont-delay/201601/ill-d...
- bcook 11y ago
  Your ability to conjure self-interest & confidence seem uncommon (incredible) though. In my life, nothing has been so simple.
  - eldude 11y ago
    To be fair, sometimes self-interest merely means bribing myself, like for instance with a new Macbook Pro in exchange for seeing a contract through to completion, or maybe an expensive bottle of whiskey. The self-efficacy portion is harder, but most of the failure of procrastinators is due to the self-created problem of not having enough time. Fortunately, focusing on increasing self-efficacy leads one to start making progress right away (i.e., not procrastinating). Have you ever tried increasing your self-efficacy (belief in your potential for success)?
    - bcook 11y ago
      Eh, I have pretty harsh clinical depression, so I only really see horrible conclusions. but, yeah, I have tried a few things. They only last up to a year before I conclude that it's not worth it. I sincerely apologize for this post (because I know you are trying to spread positivity & encouragement), but I think I offer a different perspective where these simple changes do not offer much help.
huevosabio 11y ago
Jon Kleinberg has a very useful graph theoretical model for procrastination: http://uwtv.org/series/2015-computer-science-engineering-colloquia/watch/5yb4-rtMrak/ http://uwtv.org/series/2015-computer-science-engineering-col...
mirimir 11y ago
> Procrastinators might chop up tasks into smaller pieces so they can work through a more manageable series of assignments. This was a key insight for me. Knowing that I can finish just this one piece in one sitting makes it doable.
- Terr_ 11y ago
  IMO another very powerful thing is to stop saying "do the very next thing" and say "do any of the next things". Sometimes you get side-tracked determining the "proper order" of your little tasks in excruciating detail, which feels like work.
mangeletti 11y ago
I'll come back and read this later.
- blaabjerg 11y ago
  No matter how obvious and beaten-to-death a joke is, there's always someone who can't help themselves.
  - tawan 11y ago
    I think this line of jokes has some potential, but I
    - mangeletti 11y ago
      Ha, I was just # TODO: Finish this comment
hartator 11y ago
I think you know you have an issue when you delay your own current tasks by reading an article about procrastination, fully agree with it, then procrastinate more by posting a comment on HN.
ogig 11y ago
> “It’s an existentially relevant problem, because it’s not getting on with life itself,” he says. “You only get a certain number of years. What are you doing?” Not working sounds fine.
aab0 11y ago
Relevant: http://lesswrong.com/lw/3w3/how_to_beat_procrastination/ http://lesswrong.com/lw/3w3/how_to_beat_procrastination/ http://lesswrong.com/lw/jyg/outline_summary_the_procrastination_equation/ http://lesswrong.com/lw/jyg/outline_summary_the_procrastinat... http://www.amazon.com/The-Procrastination-Equation-Putting-Getting/dp/0061703621 http://www.amazon.com/The-Procrastination-Equation-Putting-G...
heimatau 11y ago
TL;DR; The science is merky but researchers have noticed self-forgiveness, seeing tasks as fun (or rewarding), and changing the perspective of procrastinators have been beneficial. Emotions also play a role. Since many may skim this article here are some highlights with direct excerpts: - (defining proc) What I’ve found is that while everybody may procrastinate, not everyone is a procrastinator,” says APS Fellow Joseph Ferrari, a professor of psychology at DePaul University. - (regarding a research social experiment) As it happened, chronic procrastinators only delayed practice on the puzzle when it was described as a cognitive evaluation. When it was described as fun, they behaved no differently from non-procrastinators. - (proc is self-defeating) In an issue of the Journal of Research in Personality from 2000, Tice and Ferrari concluded that procrastination is really a self-defeating behavior — with procrastinators trying to undermine their own best efforts. - (defining procrastinators) The idea is that procrastinators calculate the fluctuating utility of certain activities: pleasurable ones have more value early on, and tough tasks become more important as a deadline approaches. - (link between proc and emotions) “Emotional regulation, to me, is the real story around procrastination, because to the extent that I can deal with my emotions, I can stay on task,” says Pychyl. “When you say task-aversiveness, that’s another word for lack of enjoyment. Those are feeling states — those aren’t states of which [task] has more utility.” - (on the Neuropsychology) Rabin, the study suggests that procrastination might be an “expression of subtle executive dysfunction” in people who are otherwise neuropsychologically healthy. - (Solutions?) Sirois believes the best way to eliminate the need for short-term mood fixes is to find something positive or worthwhile about the task itself. - (Solutions?) Ferrari...would like to see a general cultural shift from punishing lateness to rewarding the early bird. - (Solutions?) But while the tough love approach might work for couples [references to not doing a spouse's stack of dishes], the best personal remedy for procrastination might actually be self-forgiveness. - (Solutions?) The research team, led by Michael Wohl, reported in a 2010 issue of Personality and Individual Differences that students who forgave themselves after procrastinating on the first exam were less likely to delay studying for the second one.
- majewsky 11y ago
  > The idea is that procrastinators calculate the fluctuating utility of certain activities: pleasurable ones have more value early on, and tough tasks become more important as a deadline approaches. This sounds like a definition (sort of) for rational judgment. When you have a hard task, most of the time it's a good idea to procrastinate it for a while because a) requirements may change, so that work spent early on could be useless (or even the whole task could turn out to be unnecessary), or b) you might acquire more knowledge in the meantime which enables you to solve the task more effectively or more efficiently. The distinction between a procrastinator and a rationalist would then be that the procrastinator also procrastinates tasks for which the outlook of these two things happening is bleak.
hashberry 11y ago
I am a remote worker and suffer from chronic procrastination. This is a great article but I believe procrastination is an addiction. At times I feel like a compulsive alcoholic who sneaks off to do fun things all day instead of working. I have procrastinated as a student and my entire career and have always gotten away with it. I've been rewarded with praise of my great work, higher paying positions, and bonuses. I find myself enjoying waiting until the last minute and then using stress to help me succeed. It is a vicious cycle. I want to stop procrastinating but at the same time I like doing it.
- heimatau 11y ago
  I wish research would look into high IQ procrastinators because they'd be an outlier to their data. Since the bad consequences tend to miss high IQ people. But according to the article, researchers wouldn't call that procrastination, since the consequences haven't been experienced. Many of the same stressors are experienced between people who complete tasks (I've been calling them high IQ but could be anyone), last minute, and those that miss their deadlines (proc). I think your 'issue' is similar to mine. We find ourselves unchallenged. Therefore we wait, to increase the challenge. And when we win, the victory is oh so sweet.
  - mirimir 11y ago
    I developed very bad habits as a child. I could screw off, read SF in class, barely study, and still be the best in science. But then I went to university with others like me, and it was a rude awakening ;)
    - sitkack 11y ago
      The shock of suddenly being average. No one warned us.
      - mirimir 11y ago
        Worse than average, in most subjects :( Math and physics majors totally kicked my ass. But at least I was still near the top in chemistry :) And I discovered that engineering math and coding made a lot more sense than, for example, number theory.
69mlgsniperdad 11y ago
Adderall/Stimulant + Checklist + Calendar = Solution
scotty79 11y ago
> Tice and colleagues reported that students didn’t procrastinate before an intelligence test when primed to believe their mood was fixed. In contrast, when they thought their mood could change (and particularly when they were in a bad mood), they delayed practice until about the final minute. The findings suggested that self-control only succumbs to temptation when present emotions can be improved as a result. That's very interesting observation. That explains why procrastinators eventually get to things when they hit the rock bottom of tiredness and self loathing.
maruhan2 11y ago
The irony of procrastinating by reading about procrastination
- azazqadir 11y ago
  Sometime people want take their mind off of work for few minutes to get relaxed. That does not make it procrastination. It's called taking a break.
letushelp 11y ago
The article was very well written article and I can closely relate it with my situation. I also loved reading each one of the comments there and here on HN in a hope to find some solution which is working for him or her. But There are many people just like me who wish to find solution and don’t know what to do. Finally, I took one step to form a slack community to win over our procrastination problem. You can get invite for your self at https://letswinnow.herokuapp.com/ https://letswinnow.herokuapp.com/ .Being a shit procrastinator, I put in time to deploy it and did it before any other task. I hope, at least someone of you will join it and we’ll together try to help ourselves to fight with this. Hope to see you on Lets win now!
tmbsundar 11y ago
This article is right on many points. But, I think it does not do justice in characterizing the application of Temporal Motivation Theory (TMT), Expectancy Theory, Cumulative Prospect Theory to procrastination - by Steel and others at various points in time - as "Time management" in one broad stroke. The behavioral economic school of thought clearly implies -explicitly and indirectly - the role of emotions and moods in procrastination. Take for instance, in the TMT equation,[1][2] the concept of - "Value": This is more of how much you see value in that activity, how interesting or engaging that is to "you", how pleasurable it is, How rewarding that activity is, etc., The selection of the activity is heavily influenced by what looks pleasurable and rewarding to you. - "Impulsiveness": This is similar to the "Emotional regulation" or "self-control" in the psychologists' approach. If you are in a good and/or stable mood, chances are that, you would have more control over your Emotions and thus less distraction. The "economic theory", apart from the "Temporal" aspect, also stresses on the "impulsive" and "pleasure" components in the equation. Also, in the analysis, the analysts from the behavioral economic point of view also recommend "to break the activities into smaller chunks", "have conquerable smaller activities with local deadlines" etc., similar to the psychologists' approach. I think that the psychologists' point of view is well taken, with the "mood control"/"emotional regulation" point being emphasized. But, at the same time, the behavioral economic point view is not only about "Time Management". [1] http://lesswrong.com/lw/3w3/how_to_beat_procrastination/ http://lesswrong.com/lw/3w3/how_to_beat_procrastination/ [2]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temporal_motivation_theory https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temporal_motivation_theory

176 points by rfreytag 11y ago

Today I did browse the internet all day and put my real work for tomorrow...

Kind of painful to read such an accurate account of my own psychological failings while currently carrying out such failings (procrastinating by reading this article)

LanceH 11y ago
I was going to skip this article until you put it this way.
albemuth 11y ago
You should read this: http://waitbutwhy.com/2013/10/why-procrastinators-procrastinate.html http://waitbutwhy.com/2013/10/why-procrastinators-procrastin... It's the most accurate and empathetic description I've read.

seangrogg 11y ago

> If progress on a task can take many forms, procrastination is the absence of progress. Oh, well... I guess I can't call myself a procrastinator anymore. Now to ponder what I should refer to myself as...

seizethecheese 11y ago

For those who would rather try to use procrastination to their advantage than fight against it: http://www.structuredprocrastination.com/ http://www.structuredprocrastination.com/

hacker_9 11y ago

Labels are dangerous, and labelling yourself as a procrastinator will just make you even less likely to do the work you need to do. I think I get a lot of work done (solo game dev on my own), but I also re-organise my task list about every week too, does that make me a procrastinator? If I get stuck on a hard problem, I'll often browse the internet mindlessly, then come back and solve it. Does that make me a procrastinator? If I take a week off, am I a procrastinator!? Just because we made up a word for 'not doing work' doesn't make it real, or a problem. 'chronic procrastination'? Give me a break. I think the real problem is people don't like doing things that are hard, which work generally is (nothing worth doing is easy after all!), and it's easy to just not do something and not have to suffer through the stress of it, anxiety of it and so on. If you're still reading, my solution for all this is exercise, specifically Yoga. I have a mat laid out in my house, and when I'm stressed I just do poses, stretching and breathing, and all the 'bad feelings' go away. then I can work in a relaxed state and end up being very productive. A biologist would probably tell you that you release chemicals that combat the stress chemicals and so on, but I just know it works.

pa5tabear 11y ago
Do you think you can attribute the relaxation more to the breathing or stretching component? I've been doing casual meditation (mostly just mindful breathing) and I wonder if I'd further benefit my mind from Yoga. I already do intense cardio and resistance exercises from other activities.
- hacker_9 11y ago
  The stretching to be honest. I used to meditate, but these days I only really do it I can't fall asleep, or need to fast forward my brain getting over some bad experience I've had. For a productivity boost, I'd definitely go with yoga for more 'bang for your buck' per say; I'm probably on the mat for roughly 5-10 mins, a couple of times a day or more (depending on frustration levels!) Intense exercise is also good, but it gives a different result than Yoga, seeing as you are pushing yourself to the limit. Yoga is more about calming your body, centering yourself, getting the immune system moving and so on.
11y ago

Terr_ 11y ago

Phew, I feel like the author of this article has been snooping in my diary. (That is, if I didn't procrastinate writing entries in it.) Quotes that really stand out: > “It really has nothing to do with time-management,” he says. “As I tell people, to tell the chronic procrastinator to just do it would be like saying to a clinically depressed person, cheer up.” > “The chronic procrastinator, the person who does this as a lifestyle, would rather have other people think that they lack effort than lacking ability,” says Ferrari. “It’s a maladaptive lifestyle.” > “The future self becomes the beast of burden for procrastination,” says Sirois. “We’re trying to regulate our current mood and thinking our future self will be in a better state. They’ll be better able to handle feelings of insecurity or frustration with the task. That somehow we’ll develop these miraculous coping skills to deal with these emotions that we just can’t deal with right now.” > But while the tough love approach might work for couples, the best personal remedy for procrastination might actually be self-forgiveness.

askafriend 11y ago

Because sometimes shit is just boring shrug.

msdos 11y ago

The surprising habits of original thinkers: https://www.ted.com/talks/adam_grant_the_surprising_habits_of_original_thinkers https://www.ted.com/talks/adam_grant_the_surprising_habits_o...

33degrees 11y ago

"The idea is that procrastinators comfort themselves in the present with the false belief that they’ll be more emotionally equipped to handle a task in the future." This pretty much sums it up for me, and explains why the time management based approaches haven't helped me all that much.

scotty79 11y ago
I think that's just one of rationalizations not actual strategy. It's like alcoholic thinking one drink will give him strength to stay sober.

eldude 11y ago

Procrastination is a lack of motivation, which itself is a combination of self-interest + self-efficacy (expected probability of success). I overcame procrastination / lack of motivation when I read this article[1], effectively summarizing the above through a study of the study habits of successful (non-procrastinating) children. Now, when I procrastinate, I ask myself, what is my selfish motivation for completing this, and do I believe I will be successful? If I don't have a self-interest, I create one. If I don't believe I will be successful, I find a way to ensure success or sufficiently increase my confidence in my ability to achieve success. [1] https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/dont-delay/201601/ill-do-it-later-childrens-academic-procrastination https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/dont-delay/201601/ill-d...

bcook 11y ago
Your ability to conjure self-interest & confidence seem uncommon (incredible) though. In my life, nothing has been so simple.
- eldude 11y ago
  To be fair, sometimes self-interest merely means bribing myself, like for instance with a new Macbook Pro in exchange for seeing a contract through to completion, or maybe an expensive bottle of whiskey. The self-efficacy portion is harder, but most of the failure of procrastinators is due to the self-created problem of not having enough time. Fortunately, focusing on increasing self-efficacy leads one to start making progress right away (i.e., not procrastinating). Have you ever tried increasing your self-efficacy (belief in your potential for success)?
  - bcook 11y ago
    Eh, I have pretty harsh clinical depression, so I only really see horrible conclusions. but, yeah, I have tried a few things. They only last up to a year before I conclude that it's not worth it. I sincerely apologize for this post (because I know you are trying to spread positivity & encouragement), but I think I offer a different perspective where these simple changes do not offer much help.

huevosabio 11y ago

Jon Kleinberg has a very useful graph theoretical model for procrastination: http://uwtv.org/series/2015-computer-science-engineering-colloquia/watch/5yb4-rtMrak/ http://uwtv.org/series/2015-computer-science-engineering-col...

mirimir 11y ago

> Procrastinators might chop up tasks into smaller pieces so they can work through a more manageable series of assignments. This was a key insight for me. Knowing that I can finish just this one piece in one sitting makes it doable.

Terr_ 11y ago
IMO another very powerful thing is to stop saying "do the very next thing" and say "do any of the next things". Sometimes you get side-tracked determining the "proper order" of your little tasks in excruciating detail, which feels like work.

mangeletti 11y ago

I'll come back and read this later.

blaabjerg 11y ago
No matter how obvious and beaten-to-death a joke is, there's always someone who can't help themselves.
- tawan 11y ago
  I think this line of jokes has some potential, but I
  - mangeletti 11y ago
    Ha, I was just # TODO: Finish this comment

hartator 11y ago

I think you know you have an issue when you delay your own current tasks by reading an article about procrastination, fully agree with it, then procrastinate more by posting a comment on HN.

ogig 11y ago

> “It’s an existentially relevant problem, because it’s not getting on with life itself,” he says. “You only get a certain number of years. What are you doing?” Not working sounds fine.

aab0 11y ago

Relevant: http://lesswrong.com/lw/3w3/how_to_beat_procrastination/ http://lesswrong.com/lw/3w3/how_to_beat_procrastination/ http://lesswrong.com/lw/jyg/outline_summary_the_procrastination_equation/ http://lesswrong.com/lw/jyg/outline_summary_the_procrastinat... http://www.amazon.com/The-Procrastination-Equation-Putting-Getting/dp/0061703621 http://www.amazon.com/The-Procrastination-Equation-Putting-G...

heimatau 11y ago

TL;DR; The science is merky but researchers have noticed self-forgiveness, seeing tasks as fun (or rewarding), and changing the perspective of procrastinators have been beneficial. Emotions also play a role. Since many may skim this article here are some highlights with direct excerpts: - (defining proc) What I’ve found is that while everybody may procrastinate, not everyone is a procrastinator,” says APS Fellow Joseph Ferrari, a professor of psychology at DePaul University. - (regarding a research social experiment) As it happened, chronic procrastinators only delayed practice on the puzzle when it was described as a cognitive evaluation. When it was described as fun, they behaved no differently from non-procrastinators. - (proc is self-defeating) In an issue of the Journal of Research in Personality from 2000, Tice and Ferrari concluded that procrastination is really a self-defeating behavior — with procrastinators trying to undermine their own best efforts. - (defining procrastinators) The idea is that procrastinators calculate the fluctuating utility of certain activities: pleasurable ones have more value early on, and tough tasks become more important as a deadline approaches. - (link between proc and emotions) “Emotional regulation, to me, is the real story around procrastination, because to the extent that I can deal with my emotions, I can stay on task,” says Pychyl. “When you say task-aversiveness, that’s another word for lack of enjoyment. Those are feeling states — those aren’t states of which [task] has more utility.” - (on the Neuropsychology) Rabin, the study suggests that procrastination might be an “expression of subtle executive dysfunction” in people who are otherwise neuropsychologically healthy. - (Solutions?) Sirois believes the best way to eliminate the need for short-term mood fixes is to find something positive or worthwhile about the task itself. - (Solutions?) Ferrari...would like to see a general cultural shift from punishing lateness to rewarding the early bird. - (Solutions?) But while the tough love approach might work for couples [references to not doing a spouse's stack of dishes], the best personal remedy for procrastination might actually be self-forgiveness. - (Solutions?) The research team, led by Michael Wohl, reported in a 2010 issue of Personality and Individual Differences that students who forgave themselves after procrastinating on the first exam were less likely to delay studying for the second one.

majewsky 11y ago
> The idea is that procrastinators calculate the fluctuating utility of certain activities: pleasurable ones have more value early on, and tough tasks become more important as a deadline approaches. This sounds like a definition (sort of) for rational judgment. When you have a hard task, most of the time it's a good idea to procrastinate it for a while because a) requirements may change, so that work spent early on could be useless (or even the whole task could turn out to be unnecessary), or b) you might acquire more knowledge in the meantime which enables you to solve the task more effectively or more efficiently. The distinction between a procrastinator and a rationalist would then be that the procrastinator also procrastinates tasks for which the outlook of these two things happening is bleak.

hashberry 11y ago

I am a remote worker and suffer from chronic procrastination. This is a great article but I believe procrastination is an addiction. At times I feel like a compulsive alcoholic who sneaks off to do fun things all day instead of working. I have procrastinated as a student and my entire career and have always gotten away with it. I've been rewarded with praise of my great work, higher paying positions, and bonuses. I find myself enjoying waiting until the last minute and then using stress to help me succeed. It is a vicious cycle. I want to stop procrastinating but at the same time I like doing it.

heimatau 11y ago
I wish research would look into high IQ procrastinators because they'd be an outlier to their data. Since the bad consequences tend to miss high IQ people. But according to the article, researchers wouldn't call that procrastination, since the consequences haven't been experienced. Many of the same stressors are experienced between people who complete tasks (I've been calling them high IQ but could be anyone), last minute, and those that miss their deadlines (proc). I think your 'issue' is similar to mine. We find ourselves unchallenged. Therefore we wait, to increase the challenge. And when we win, the victory is oh so sweet.
- mirimir 11y ago
  I developed very bad habits as a child. I could screw off, read SF in class, barely study, and still be the best in science. But then I went to university with others like me, and it was a rude awakening ;)
  - sitkack 11y ago
    The shock of suddenly being average. No one warned us.
    - mirimir 11y ago
      Worse than average, in most subjects :( Math and physics majors totally kicked my ass. But at least I was still near the top in chemistry :) And I discovered that engineering math and coding made a lot more sense than, for example, number theory.

69mlgsniperdad 11y ago

Adderall/Stimulant + Checklist + Calendar = Solution

scotty79 11y ago

> Tice and colleagues reported that students didn’t procrastinate before an intelligence test when primed to believe their mood was fixed. In contrast, when they thought their mood could change (and particularly when they were in a bad mood), they delayed practice until about the final minute. The findings suggested that self-control only succumbs to temptation when present emotions can be improved as a result. That's very interesting observation. That explains why procrastinators eventually get to things when they hit the rock bottom of tiredness and self loathing.

maruhan2 11y ago

The irony of procrastinating by reading about procrastination

azazqadir 11y ago
Sometime people want take their mind off of work for few minutes to get relaxed. That does not make it procrastination. It's called taking a break.

letushelp 11y ago

The article was very well written article and I can closely relate it with my situation. I also loved reading each one of the comments there and here on HN in a hope to find some solution which is working for him or her. But There are many people just like me who wish to find solution and don’t know what to do. Finally, I took one step to form a slack community to win over our procrastination problem. You can get invite for your self at https://letswinnow.herokuapp.com/ https://letswinnow.herokuapp.com/ .Being a shit procrastinator, I put in time to deploy it and did it before any other task. I hope, at least someone of you will join it and we’ll together try to help ourselves to fight with this. Hope to see you on Lets win now!

tmbsundar 11y ago

This article is right on many points. But, I think it does not do justice in characterizing the application of Temporal Motivation Theory (TMT), Expectancy Theory, Cumulative Prospect Theory to procrastination - by Steel and others at various points in time - as "Time management" in one broad stroke. The behavioral economic school of thought clearly implies -explicitly and indirectly - the role of emotions and moods in procrastination. Take for instance, in the TMT equation,[1][2] the concept of - "Value": This is more of how much you see value in that activity, how interesting or engaging that is to "you", how pleasurable it is, How rewarding that activity is, etc., The selection of the activity is heavily influenced by what looks pleasurable and rewarding to you. - "Impulsiveness": This is similar to the "Emotional regulation" or "self-control" in the psychologists' approach. If you are in a good and/or stable mood, chances are that, you would have more control over your Emotions and thus less distraction. The "economic theory", apart from the "Temporal" aspect, also stresses on the "impulsive" and "pleasure" components in the equation. Also, in the analysis, the analysts from the behavioral economic point of view also recommend "to break the activities into smaller chunks", "have conquerable smaller activities with local deadlines" etc., similar to the psychologists' approach. I think that the psychologists' point of view is well taken, with the "mood control"/"emotional regulation" point being emphasized. But, at the same time, the behavioral economic point view is not only about "Time Management". [1] http://lesswrong.com/lw/3w3/how_to_beat_procrastination/ http://lesswrong.com/lw/3w3/how_to_beat_procrastination/ [2]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temporal_motivation_theory https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temporal_motivation_theory